The figure of 18 school shootings was repeated by Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), who tweeted:

Just awful, gut-wrenching news. My heart breaks for the victims and families of the horrific shooting in Parkland, FL. This is the 18th school shooting in the first 43 days of 2018. ​We cannot accept this as normal. We must address gun violence. https://t.co/QYrhLkKgi6

A fact check immediately shows that a claim of 18 school shootings is not supported by facts.

For example, in Everytown for Gun Safety’s breakdown of the alleged shootings, it is evident that eight of the 18 incidents did not result in any injuries or fatalities. Of the remaining 10 alleged shootings, Everytown lists two as an “attempted or completed suicide, with no intent to injure other person.” One of the suicides occurred in the bathroom of an Arizona school and the second in the parking lot of a Michigan school. No one else was injured in either incident.

Of the remaining eight incidents, Everytown lists one as a “gun fired unintentionally.” Of the remaining seven, where a gun was fired to harm others, at least one of the incidents was a single shot fired following an early morning fight at Wake Forest University. One shooting happened outside a Louisiana high school resulting in a 14-year-old receiving an “superficial” wound, and another resulted in a 15-year-old girl being wounded by a 16-year-old boy.

When suicides, accidental discharges, purposeful shootings without injuries, and purposeful shootings with only “superficial” wounds are counted as school shootings on par with the attack on Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School or Columbine, then we have reached a point when the phrase “school shootings” can connote anything.